Factors, Trends, and Topics in the Evolution of Counseling Psychology Training

During all of its history, the specialty of counseling psychology has evolved constantly in response to changes in the context in which it exists. As the specialty has changed, so too has training. This article discusses six forces that have affected the content and process of counseling psychology training and will continue to do so: market forces, practitioner-educator dialogues, expectations and directives from within the profession, social and political forces, technological innovations, and the cultural context of counseling psychology. We briefly discuss prescriptive authority as a topic that will affect professional training, then conclude by introducing five particular topics that will be covered in the other articles in this issue. All will affect counseling psychology training into at least the near future.

The Meta-Analysis of Clinical Judgment Project: Fifty-Six Years of Accumulated Research on Clinical Versus Statistical Prediction

Clinical predictions made by mental health practitioners are compared with those using statistical approaches. Sixty-seven studies were identified from a comprehensive search of 56 years of research; 92 effect sizes were derived from these studies. The overall effect of clinical versus statistical prediction showed a somewhat greater accuracy for statistical methods. The most stringent sample of studies, from which 48 effect sizes were extracted, indicated a 13% increase in accuracy using statistical versus clinical methods. Several variables influenced this overall effect. Clinical and statistical prediction accuracy varied by type of prediction, the setting in which predictor data were gathered, the type of statistical formula used, and the amount of information available to the clinicians and the formulas. Recommendations are provided about when and under what conditions counseling psychologists might use statistical formulas as well as when they can rely on clinical methods. Implications for clinical judgment research and training are discussed.

Where is the Dialogue? A Social Constructionist View of Empirically Supported Treatments

Since the publication of the list of empirically supported treatments by the American Psychological Association in 1995 a controversy has resulted between those who view positive psychotherapeutic outcome as resulting from the use of specific (listed) techniques and those who lean towards the so-called common or relationship factors rather than particular techniques as necessary for such outcomes. This paper examines the controversy and shows that both sides follow the same objectivist/empiricist and reductionist epistemology. In contrast, the paper adopts a social constructionist perspective and shows that the idea of therapeutic outcome as linearly determined by either technical or common factors or a combination of these is a misleading oversimplification which fails to account for the dialogue which is the core of psychotherapy. Rather, positive outcome is viewed as mutually constructed in a unique dialogue which encompasses both common and technical factors. This takes the form of the conversational development of a new understanding or reframe of the problem followed by action which is deemed appropriate to the new understanding. This view is illustrated by practical examples.

The Training, Value, and Reality of Master’s-Level Mental Health Counselors

There is a need for individuals trained in professional practice that cannot be met by psychologists and psychiatrists. Because the American Psychological Association (APA) maintains that the minimum requirement for the independent practice of psychology is a doctorate degree, master’s-level programs significantly increased and produce graduates in professions separate from psychology. These master’s-level clinicians are more likely to identify professionally with the standards and values endorsed by counseling, marriage and family therapy, and social work organizations (McPherson, Pisecco, Elman, Crosbie-Burnett, & Sayger, 2000). Given the number of master’s-level clinicians working side by side with clinical psychologists, this article aims to provide a brief introduction of the master’s-level clinicians. Furthermore, it focuses on the counseling profession because it has the largest overlap with psychology. In the discussion, the authors highlight strengths of master’s-level training in counseling as well as identify areas that could be informed by the field of psychology. Similarly, this article discusses aspects of training that master’s-level counselors receive, which may inform the field of applied psychology, such as skill-training models and the credentialing of supervisors.

Empirically Supported Treatments: the Deconstruction of a Myth

This article summarizes recent findings from analyses and meta-analyses of psychotherapy research that show that so-called empirically supported treatments (ESTs) are no more effective than are traditional psychotherapies. In addition, the findings show that specific modalities and techniques have little, if anything at all, to do with therapeutic benefits and that client improvement and therapeutic outcome are instead the result of other factors in the therapeutic situation such as the alliance, the therapist, the relationship, and other contextual factors. The article shows how these findings deconstruct the whole notion of ESTs and make the current debate about them meaningless. Finally, the article discusses implications of the findings and urges humanistic psychologists and other proponents of traditional psychotherapies to shift the debate away from modalities and techniques and to focus on the factors that are actually responsible for therapeutic benefits.

Development of the Motivational Interviewing Supervision and Training Scale

The movement to use empirically supported treatments has increased the need for researchers and supervisors to evaluate therapists' adherence to and the quality with which they implement those interventions. Few empirically supported approaches exist for providing these types of evaluations. This is also true for motivational interviewing, an empirically supported intervention important in the addictions field. This study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of the Motivational Interviewing Supervision and Training Scale (MISTS), a measure intended for use in training and supervising therapists implementing motivational interviewing. Satisfactory interrater reliability was found (generalizability coefficient p(2) = .79), and evidence was found supporting the convergent and discriminant validity of the MISTS. Recommendations for refinement of the measure and future research are discussed.